An Embu Ward Representative found himself on unfamiliar ground when he was rebuked at the County Assembly for insinuating that Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire should be ‘tamed’ for disrespecting men.
Runyenjes MCA Steve Simba, while contributing to a Motion that proposed that MCAs sign the Leadership and Integrity Code as prescribed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, said the public confrontation between the Parliamentarian and Senator Lenny Kivuti went against African traditions which dictate that a woman should never raise a finger or shout at a man.
Simba condemned the incident and said Mbarire displayed a bad image of African women which should not be emulated.
He said the MP ought to have shown respect for men by remaining mum irrespective of what the Senator had said to irk her.
The MCA added that despite Mbarire’s leadership position, she ought to adhere to African norms and traditional code of ethics.
However, Simba came under fire when Makima MCA Penina Mutua immediately rebuked him by saying that times had changed from when a woman’s place was the kitchen.
She said Embu male politicians had an “analogue mentality” which made them believe a woman had no place in society and therefore deserved no respect.
The sentiments elicited a heated verbal exchange between Mutua, who is the only elected female MCA and Simba, who contended that Embu men had accorded their women enough kindness and respect by marrying them and offering them places to live for decades.
But Mutua scoffed at her Runyenjes Central counterpart saying it was time that Embu men learnt to respect women.
Mutua who is also the Chairperson of the County Assembly Committee on Gender, Children and Social Services said Senator Kivuti ought to have played the gentleman by apologising to Mbarire to avoid the public spectacle because despite being a woman, the MP was capable of feeling pain when wronged and was justified to react the way she did.
On his Part, Speaker Kariuki Mate said Simba should be allowed to express his opinion about women, observing that he had displayed a lot of maturity this year as opposed to the previous year when he was spotted in a protest rally waving a soiled female undergarment.
Simba is also in record for having asked for a ‘Loneliness Allowance’ payable to his spouse when he is away on official duty.
Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh on the other hand said women should be ready to wrestle with men for political seats in the county since they had for long agitated for equality.
He stated that nothing would be handed to women on a silver platter, adding that political confrontations between male and female politicians would be commonplace during the electioneering period
